


The Minimum Beats the Maximum

by warlockdetective



Category: Video Blogging & YouTube RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1930s, Gen, It's Alright If You See It As A Different Period of Time, Poker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-07
Updated: 2013-11-07
Packaged: 2017-12-31 18:24:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1034925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warlockdetective/pseuds/warlockdetective
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was perhaps the best there was. Never lost a single game, although he'd be lying if he said that he hadn't come close before, and he knew that.</p>
<p>But then <em>she</em> played against him.<br/>And to them, she was the queen.<br/>And compared to her, he was perhaps nothing more than a pesky serving boy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Minimum Beats the Maximum

**Author's Note:**

> I was watching "Lullaby Cubed" (I can't do the cubed symbol) on PJ's main channel when I got the idea for this.  
> Basically inspiration comes from anywhere to me if I look carefully enough.  
> This proves to be quite troublesome at times.
> 
> Also, I _will_ be getting back to "Winesap Apples are Sweeter Than This" soon, but my mind wanted me to write this down.  
>  I am sorry.
> 
> Be honest.

Mr. PJ "Jones" Liguori.  
He was perhaps the best there was. Never lost a single game, although he'd be lying if he said that he hadn't come close before, and he knew that.  
And he was quite hated by a majority of the previous champions, for he was only 22 years old, yet he had beaten all of these marvels almost effortlessly. It had gotten to the point where one asked if he had some cards hidden in his sleeve.

But then _she_ played against him.  
Ms. Sophie Newton.  
He had heard of her, of course, but he never thought that she would be one of the people who played against him. She was only a few months younger than him, but from what he had heard, she was much better than him.  
They called her "The Rhododendron Queen," a code name that she herself had created roughly translating to "Beware the deceptive queen."  
He felt that if to them she was a deceptive queen, he was nothing less than a deceptive serving boy.

Or that was what he had hoped.

On the night of the tournament, not only did he learn that he was playing against her, but two others, as well.  
He was the first who arrived at the table, much to both his relief and disappointment.

The second to arrive was almost as good a player as Jones. He was better known as Mr. Tim "H" Hautekiet. H was a bit older than Jones, and he had more experience, as well. They simply shook hands and mumbled a quick "Good evening," before he took the seat to the left of Jones.

The third to arrive was more famous due to his face rather than his experience. Truth be told, no one knew his true name, so they called him "Fly Guy," mainly because he was said to have the face similar to that of a fly. However, he seemed alright with it, for the most part. The three of them mumbled another "Good evening," before he took the seat to the right of Jones.

Which left the empty seat in front of Jones.  
There were three minutes before the tournament began.

"Isn't someone else coming?" Jones asked hesitantly, looking at the empty seat in front of him.

Fly Guy nodded before answering, "Yes, Jones, but this isn't just _anyone_ , you see."

"What do you mean?" Jones asked, more hesitant than last time.

"No one told you who you'd be playing against, did they?" H stated. Jones shook his head, and H continued, "I believe you've heard of the ever so mysterious Rhododendron Queen, am I correct?"

"I've heard quite a lot about her, to be honest, but I've never seen a picture of her face before," Jones admitted.

"She prefers it that way," Fly Guy stated. "Quite a huge advantage for her to use, if I do say so myself, for if she played against someone she knew, they wouldn't really recognize her."

"But is it true what they say abo--was that the door?" Jones asked, and all three men turned their heads to see who it was, and all three men were startled by who they saw walking towards the table.  
She was in black high heels, a long black lace dress that was complimented by a pearl necklace, and a small black brim hat that was perfectly angled to hide her eyes yet show her lips.  
The Rhododendron Queen.

"Good evening, gentlemen," she acknowledged, taking the seat in front of Jones.

"Good evening, madam," all three men mumbled, almost in unison.

And then the tournament began.

About half an hour into the tournament, Fly Guy had lost; he had used all of his chips, hoping that his hand was good enough. It was nowhere near good enough. (They consisted of a pair of fours, a two, a six, and a three.)  
Which left off Jones, H, and the Queen.

About an hour-and-a-half into the tournament, Jones was honestly a bit confused about her, for she didn't seem to be anything like the public made her sound; her hands were quite awful, if he had to be honest with what he thought. He was in the lead, while H was slowly running out of chips.

Jones then made perhaps the riskiest decision during his years of playing the game; He bluffed in order to get H to lose and, perhaps, keep the Queen in for a little while longer. He claimed that his hand only consisted of a pair of fours, a two, a three, and a five. This caused H to use the rest of his chips. In reality, Jones' hand was really a pair of kings, a queen, an eight, and a ten.

Which left Jones and the Queen.

About two-and-a-half hours into the tournament, Jones suddenly made a declaration. "Madam, I do hope that I don't offend you when I say this, but I believe that I have put an end to your reign!"

"And what, may I ask, makes you say that?" she questioned. The tone she had spoken in was enough to send shivers of slight fear down his spine.

"Because, my dear Queen, I believe that I have obtained the unbeatable hand, and we're both in a predicament where no matter how many chips we bet, the other will lose in the end!" Jones answered enthusiastically, lowering the hand he had onto the table. It consisted of the ace of hearts, a king of hearts, a queen of hearts, a jack of hearts, and a 10 of hearts; a royal flush.

However, when she saw his hand, she actually looked a bit amused. "You know, to be honest with you, I was a bit hesitant as to whether or not I wanted to deceive you like that," she stated. "Truth be told, I found a way to try and guesstimate what the next hand I got would be. In the meantime, I played all of my bad hands and bet very little. And I knew that you'd probably bluff like that to H. I've heard a bit about you as well, Mr. Liguori."

She looked at her hand one last time, almost as if she was making a final confirmation, and then continued speaking, leaving Jones wondering what she was about to do. "Besides, I'm surprised you don't know of what I'm about to do, seeing that it originated where you're from, if I've been correctly informed." She then looked him in his eyes, knowing full well that he couldn't see hers, and replied, " _La minima batte la massima, la massima batte la media e la media batte la minima._ That roughly translates to _the minimum beats the maximum, the maximum beats the medium and the medium beats the minimum._ Your hand is a royal flush, which is perhaps the maximum flush you can get. It may seem like it is an unbeatable hand. However..."

She then lowered her hand onto the table; a five of clubs, a four of clubs, a three of clubs, a two of clubs, the ace of clubs. "...I have the minimum flush," she finished. "Basically, what I'm trying to say is...you caused yourself to lose the game."

"No," Jones whispered, almost inaudibly.

She then stood up and started to walk back towards the door. Before she went to the other side, however, she told Jones one last thing. "You know, they call me the _Rhododendron_ Queen for a reason."

Jones, the only person in the room that was left, closed his eyes and whispered to himself, "Well, then long live the mad Queen."

And there was the first and last game he had ever lost.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like I should say that the seating arrangements are not like that in "Lullaby Cubed." In "Lullaby Cubed," Fly Guy is to the left of PJ, Sophie is to the right of PJ, and Tim is sitting across from PJ.  
> ...Is it bad that I noticed that?


End file.
